Assessing climatic conditions and biotic interactions shaping the success of Cystoseira foeniculacea early-life stages.

ABSTRACT: Early-life stages of canopy-forming macroalgae are critical for the maintenance of natural populations and the success of restoration actions. Unfortunately, the abiotic conditions and biotic interactions shaping the success of these stages have received less attention than the interactions shaping the success of adults. Here, we combined field and mesocosm experiments to explore the effects of temperature, herbivory, and canopy presence on the development of early-life stages of the brown seaweed Cystoseira foeniculacea. We assessed these effects by examining changes in recruit density and size. After recruiting zygotes under laboratory conditions, we conducted one laboratory and three field experiments. In the first field experiment, the density of recruits decreased over time in all roc

SUBMITTER: Bernal-Ibanez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11670282 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature